Comparison of Some Pavement Design Methods from a Fatigue Point of View

ABSTRACT The paper presents a comparison between the principle international flexible pavement design methods based on fatigue material properties. Four methods were studied for the design of two pavement sections. Laboratory tests showed an enormous difference between the fatigue and the complex modulus results for the two asphalt mixes used in the base course (Stone Matrix Asphalt: SMA, and EB14: reference mix). The required thickness of the base course changes depending on the pavement design method used. Despite the laboratory results, certain methods showed no difference in thickness of the base course for the two asphalt base mixes while others showed an important difference and proves the benefit of the material's fatigue performance. Discussions underlined that the complex modulus of an asphalt material should not be used as a performance indicator to predict the fatigue life of that material.